Out of My League
by Wendy55
Summary: Alice is a first year college student with a secret crush on Isabella, the football team's openly gay deputy captain. Being friends with Isabella is easy enough, but when Alice's feelings for her begin to surface, things aren't quite so simple anymore. All Human.
1. Chapter 1

**I know, I know, I probably shouldn't be starting another story while I have another one in progress. But I'm having a bit of trouble with My Love And I, plus I just couldn't get this idea out of my head.**

**Nothing serious, just a bit of fun with writing. Hope you enjoy it :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters, SM does.**

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_Chapter One_

Isabella grunted as she threw the ball as far across the field as she could. It landed further than all but one of the others and she nodded to herself before picking up another and tossing it the same way.

Not far from her, laying on the grass with a magazine in hand was her closest friend Angela. She paid Bella no mind as she flipped lazily through the pages of some magazine that Bella had never even heard of.

"Can you believe that they broke up again, B?"

"Huh?" was Bella's reply as she tossed another one, harder this time, and it landed furthest of all of them. "Yes!"

Angela looked up to see her friend doing a little dance and then a fist pump before picking up another ball and bouncing slightly on her feet as she prepared to make another toss.

"Are you even listening to me Bella?" At that, Bella looked over at her friend. She had brown hair that was darker and longer than Bella's and wore black rimmed glasses that she loved to look over whenever she was giving Bella one of her disapproving stares...much like right now.

"Uh sorry Ange, I'm listening."

Angela snorted before pushing her glasses back up her thin nose and looking at the magazine again. "I asked if you could believe that Jelena broke up again."

Bella furrowed her brow. "What the fuck is a Jelena?"

At that, Angela fell open-mouthed. She knew her friend had no interest in celebrity life or much related to it but she had been sure that of all things, _this_ would at least be on her short list of things she paid attention to.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that look. Unlike you, I don't need to be alerted every time a celeb who has little to no impact on my life breaks up and makes up with the same person over and over."

"What? It's not even-"

"Hey Bella! Toss one here!" Both girls turned to look and saw the face of Mike Newton, possibly the most annoying person on earth.

"Screw off Mike," Bella shouted back before tossing the ball in her hand across the field to the growing pile.

"Oh come on babe, don't be like that. We both know that whole "I'm a lesbian" thing is just to make me fight for you more. You don't have to play hard to get with me."

Bella had now picked up another ball and shoved it up against Mike's chest to stop his advancing. "I said get lost Mike. Don't make me break your nose, you can't afford any more damage to that already sicking face of yours."

With that she tossed the ball back to the ground and took off in the direction of the running track. She ignored Mike calling after her, continuing her jog along the track.

She could not feel the single pair of green eyes that followed her movements as she jogged lap after long lap. Envy rolled across Alice in waves as she watched Isabella - Bella, as her friends called her - continue along the track at a fast pace, seemingly without tiring. She pulled her bag closer against her chest as she continued to watch her, her eyes wondering from the ponytail that swung back and forth with each step, down the long and lean looking back and further down still to the firm round backside covered by a pair of tiny running shorts. Her eyes continued to wander along Bella's body, paying special attention to certain areas each time she ran closer to where Alice was seated.

To Alice, Isabella was everything she was not, and everything she wished she could be. She not only envied her her body, but also her friends, her carefree persona, and her confidence above all. When Isabella had come out to her group of friends, someone else had overheard and the news travelled like wildfire that the girls' football's deputy captain was a lesbian and eventually, it got to Alice's ears a few days later.

Whenever Alice came across her in the halls, or watched her during their shared free period like she was now, Isabella exhibited nothing but the utmost confidence and a happiness that Alice could not match if she tried. Ever since everyone found out about Bella, the smile that had almost always been present on her face before was now more relaxed and carefree than before. The confidence it must have taken for Bella to announce that and not care what others thought of her was something Alice could only ever dream of for herself. She feared the consequences of such a thing becoming common knowledge on the campus, and she was afraid that in her case it would just make the bullying worse than it was already; something she could not risk happening.

Even now as Alice continued to watch her, she knew that her feelings for Bella went beyond simple envy. She had had a crush on her since that first day at the college when Bella and another person who's name she couldn't remember had given them a welcoming orientation. Bella was a year above Alice and had probably not even noticed her among that sea of students that were present for that first day.

A string of beeps threw Alice out of her thoughts and she looked down at her wrist watch, 10:25. She had five minutes to make it to her next class. With a sigh, Alice pulled herself up from her seat and gave Isabella's jogging figure one last longing glance before leaving.

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**Feedback, as always, is welcome. ****Thanks for reading :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Q&A: **Yes, this is American football, not soccer.

**Here's the second chapter :)**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Twilight, and SM still does.**

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_Chapter Two_

"Come on Bella, it's Friday! Don't you want to have a bit of fun?"

"Yeah Bells, it's not like you have to get drunk or anything. Just come and enjoy yourself a bit."

"Guys, I have too much homework-"

"I saw your task book Bella, you're free until next Wednesday."

"You searched through my bag?"

"Out of love. You need to go out some darling. All that reading you do will rot your brain."

Isabella sighed and looked from one pair of eyes to the next. Angela's hopeful ones, Edward's slightly smug ones as if he knew she would say yes, and finally Rosalie's that seemed to warn her than there was only one correct answer to their request.

"Fine, whatever, I'll come."

"Yes!" Edward exclaimed as he rushed to give her a tight hug. "I swear you won't regret it Bells."

"I better not. I'm gonna head out to the field, I've got a free next."

"I'll join you in a short while B," Angela said as she got up with her bag. "I've got to return these library books first."

"Just don't bring another magazine with you. I could feel myself losing brain cells on Monday when you were going on and on about Jolyn."

"It's Jelena. Go get changed already."

Bella picked up her gym bag and made her way to the field. When she entered the girls' locker room and began changing out of her clothes, she heard a snort from somewhere behind her.

"What are you doing here lesbo? We don't want you being a pervert and watching us get changed."

Bella rolled her eyes and turned to face Jessica Stanley. She smirked slightly when she noticed the envious glint in Jessica's eyes as she glanced down at her naked torso.

"Trust me Jess, you're the last person who will ever have to worry about that. I prefer mine shorter and with less hair on their upper lip." Jessica glared hard at her before leaving the changing room with her hand hovered over her mouth.

"Fucking dyke," she spat out as she left, probably to go check in a mirror if what Bella said was true.

_Yeah, that's original,_ Bella thought with a roll of her eyes as she finished getting dressed.

When she made her way out onto the field, she decided to begin with her jog instead and then practise her football for the rest of the time. Thirty minutes later she was done, sweat pouring down her body and her heart hammering in her chest. She looked over to the inner field and saw Angela sitting at their usual spot, this time with a notebook and textbook instead of a magazine.

"Water," she gasped out when she reached her.

"Oh, ew," Angela said with a scowl as she looked up at the panting girl before handing her water bottle over. "Where's yours?" Bella didn't reply, busy gulping down the water. She handed back an empty bottle.

"Forgot to bring it. Thanks babe." Angela rolled her eyes before looking down at her notes again. After stretching for a while, Bella made her way to the storage room, using the spare key that coach McCarty had given her so she wouldn't need to look for him all the time. It wasn't strictly allowed, but as long as Bella promised to return anything she borrowed, he didn't mind.

As she was wheeling the rack full of footballs back onto the field, Bella glanced over to some commotion that was happening near the bleachers. Pausing, she took a closer look and saw a head of short black hair caught in the middle of the group. She made her way over once she realized what was going on and forced her way through to the girl.

"Hey! Hey, leave her alone," she said, shoving one of them away while she wrapped a protective arm over the girl.

"Oh, look who it is," said James, who Bella looked at with a scowl. "Isabella Dyke Swan to the rescue, huh? What? Is this your girlfriend? Hey Fatass, you never told us you had a girlfriend," he said with a sneer at the shorter girl.

"I said leave her alone James."

"Or what? You'll sit on her face until I do?"

"James," one of his friends whispered, shaking his head inconspicuously.

"What? We were just having fun here, weren't we Fatass," he said with a smirk directed once again at the shorter girl. He didn't see Bella's fist coming until it had made contact with his jaw and he was lying on the ground, clutching desperately at it while blood poured from his mouth.

"Don't make me tell you again James," Bella spat out. The others scrambled, leaving just the three of them there.

"Fucking dyke," James muttered, wincing and clutching at his jaw again before getting up and staggering away.

_What's with people and their lack of originality?_ she wondered to herself as she shook her head.

"You didn't have to do that," came a soft voice from behind her.

"James is nothing but an asshole, he deserves more than just a punch to the face. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Bella turned and looked for the first time at the girl she had just rescued. Her hair was short, only reaching her chin, and her face was round and her cheeks plump and slightly rosy. She only reached Bella's chest and had to look up to meet her eye. Bella's heart seemed to skip a beat before taking off faster than before.

"N-No," the girl replied with a slight stammer, apparently not noticing Bella's reaction. "They never actually do anything, just call me names and shove me around sometimes."

Bella cleared her throat and berated herself for the thoughts she was now having about this girl. "Well you shouldn't let them do that to you. James acts like he's tough shit, but really he's just a little prick who makes himself feel better by picking on the little fish." She saw the shorter girl nod shyly and smiled in an attempt to ease her a bit. "So what's your name?"

"A-Alice," the girl stammered out, the rosiness of her cheeks darkening. "Alice Brandon."

"I'm Isabella Swan, but you can call me Bella if you want. What were you doing here anyway? Waiting for someone?"

"N-No, I just like to watch you-" she caught herself, "I-I mean watch people training and stuff."

Bella nodded, too absorbed in watching the girl's lips as they moved to notice her slip-up.

"Do you play anything?" she asked after bringing her gaze back up to Alice's eyes.

"No, no," Alice replied with a nervous laugh. "I'm the least sporty person on earth, probably."

Bella nodded and found herself hanging onto Alice's every word. Unfortunately, she still had to practise for the game. "Well uh...I have to go now. I've got football. I mean practise. For football. I play in it. The football team, I mean. I h-have to-"

"I know," Alice replied with a warm smile, knowing what it's like to be caught in a word jumble. "I've seen you once or twice. While I was watching others, I mean." Bella nodded, bidding Alice goodbye before heading back to the football rack she had left behind in her haste to act as heroine.

Bella found she couldn't quite concentrate as well as she did usually, knowing that Alice was sitting in the bleachers not too far from her.

_I wonder if she even watches me_, Bella thought to herself, glancing for the hundredth time at the girl who unknowingly now plagued her thoughts. _Get real Bella, she probably has a boyfriend._ Bella picked up another football, hurling it across the field in frustration. It flew so far that it nearly reached the running track after the first bounce. A low whistle from her left made Bella turn her head.

"That was a good throw," Coach McCarty complimented as he made his way closer.

"Thank you sir," Bella panted out, stretching her arms.

"I was asked by Mrs. Cullen to give you this, apparently you forgot to pick up your assignment last class or something."

"Why'd she give it to you?" Bella asked, taking the stapled papers from his hand.

"She knows you spend most of your time on the field, so she figured I'd get it to you faster than most people. Keep working on that throw, that's the kind of stuff I like to see during a game." With a pat on her shoulder, he left in the direction of his office what was situated above the rows of bleachers.

"Fuck," she muttered when she noticed the due date.

"What?" Angela asked, looking up from her own homework.

"I can't go to that party tonight. I have to hand this in to Mrs. Cullen by Monday morning. I'll probably spend the whole weekend doing it."

"Seriously? That sucks." She got up from the grass to look over Bella's shoulder. She sighed, "Guess I'll let the guys know you're not going to make it then."

"Thanks Ange. And tell them I'm sorry, 'kay? Next time. I'm gonna get changed. See you around."

Bella headed for the changing rooms, noticing that Alice was no longer sitting where she had been before. She wondered if Alice would be at the party tonight; that could have been her chance to talk to her some more.

"Stupid assignment," she muttered to herself as she turned the corner into the changing room.

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**Thanks for reading and thank you for all the reviews ^^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Q&A:** Yes, Mr. McCarty is Emmett in this story.

**Chapter three, here we go.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Twilight.**

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_Chapter Three_

Soft music drifted from Bella's speakers as she worked quietly. Her bed was littered with papers while she sat at her desk, typing away at her laptop in the semi-quiet room. She really hated having to work on a Friday night, but she hated even more having to work during a weekend, so she steeled through it.

Normally, she had one or two of her friends around whenever she was doing work, and she found it hard to concentrate without the distraction - weird as that sounded. She didn't have a roommate because of some glitch in the system that she never reported because frankly, she preferred it this way. She made use of the empty double bed for whenever Angela wanted to get away from her own roommate, or when Rosalie insisted they wake up super early to go shopping during a weekend and she would stay over to make sure Bella didn't sleep in.

The whole room was designed to Bella's liking, with posters of her favorite bands, a medium sized TV that Renee had nearly forced her to get, a mini-fridge that Charlie had given her as a gift, and a few other bits and pieces that she felt made the room more homey.

Groaning, Bella turned away from her computer screen looked out the window to the dark campus below. She found her mind drifting to what her friends were up to and how the party was going and found herself less and less willing to finish up the assignment.

Deciding that she needed some fresh air, Bella changed out of her sleeping shorts and into a pair of black sweatpants and grabbed one of Edward's hoodies that she had hijacked so long ago that he had probably forgotten about it. She quickly threw it over her tank top and put on some shoes then made her way out of the building.

The campus was always so quiet at night, and Bella found that she liked this more than the hectic hustle and bustle. Naturally, she found herself heading towards the field which was always lit up at night for late trainers.

Bella was surprised when she arrived and found that she wasn't the only one there. She looked over but couldn't quite make out who it was so she decided to make her way closer.

"Hey," she called out to the figure, making them jump.

"Who's there?" came the reply. Bella recognized Alice's soft voice; she hadn't been able to stop thinking about the girl all that much.

"Alice? What are you doing here this late?" She had now come close enough for Alice to see her properly and she saw the girl relax.

"Just my homework," came the quiet reply.

"Why aren't you doing it in your room? It's not really safe to be hanging around here at night."

Alice didn't reply, only looked away from Bella's beautiful confused face and down at her hands. She couldn't tell her that her she got kicked out of her own room. She had made herself seem weak enough earlier that same day and anything more would surely make the older girl think she was pathetic.

"Alice, is everything okay?" Bella asked her again. Alice opened her mouth to reply, but her words caught in her throat and a soft sob came out instead. She felt strong arms wrap around her almost immediately and she couldn't help but lean into them and clutch at the older girl desperately. All the pent up emotion, from James and his taunting, Lauren - her roommate - and her own taunting on top of it, it all just felt like a huge weight on her shoulders and she couldn't handle it. Wasn't college supposed to be different from high school?

Bella rubbed her back and rocked her gently, whispering softly to her and trying to calm her down. Eventually, Alice had calmed down enough for blood to rush into her cheeks when she became aware of the manner in which she was clutching onto Bella.

Pulling away, she wiped her cheeks with her sleeve and sniffed. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize," Bella said, keeping her voice soft.

"Usually I can keep myself together better than this. I promise I'm not a complete basket case," Alice said with a sad chuckle, wiping at her eyes.

"Well I won't force you to tell me anything, it's not my place, but I'd feel a lot better if I didn't leave you here alone. Like I said, it's not safe to hang out around here at night." _I hope I don't sound like a pervert asking her this._ "Do you want to come to my room? It's warmer and a lot more comfortable than these chairs."

Alice tried to control her blush at the thought of being in Bella's room and failed. She could only manage a nod in reply, her heart steadying slightly. Bella made quick work of gathering the girl's books, carrying her things for her and insisting that she was fine when Alice offered to hold some of it.

The pair walked silently across the campus back to Bella's dorm room. Bella's heart hammered as she thought about what her room looked like. _Fuck, I probably forgot to put away those dirty socks that were on the carpet. Did I pick my underwear up from the floor after I showered? She's going to think I live like a pig._ There were certain disadvantages to having your own room and not having to think about the mess you leave behind; it made your careless.

A breath of relief escaped Bella's lips when she opened the door and found no such mess. She had expected so much worse.

"Where's your roommate?" Alice asked, glancing from the bed littered with Bella's books to the empty one.

"I don't have one. I'm not sure how that happened, but since I'm in my second year, I get to keep this room for as long as I need it."

"You're so lucky."

"It has its moments." Bella set down Alice's things on the empty side of her non-existent roommate's desk and turned on the desk lamp. "What time do you want me to take you to your room?"

"Uh, I don't really know," Alice stammered out.

Bella smiled to put the girl at ease. "Relax, I don't bite. Just let me know when you're ready to leave alright?" She got a nod in response.

A few minutes later, Bella was absorbed in her work. Having someone in the room with her always helped her work faster for some reason she could never figure out.

Alice, however, found herself distracted by looking around Bella's room. There were posters everywhere, two trophies that Alice could see from where she sat, a few pictures of what Alice guessed was Bella's family, and a lot of other things that Alice couldn't take her eyes away from.

Her eyes drifted towards Bella's bed, and her cheeks immediately turned red when she saw a black pair of what seemed to be Bella's lace panties laying on the ground next to the bed. Quickly glancing up at Bella, she noticed that her eyes were focused on her computer. Alice quickly looked back at her own books, placing her hands on her cheeks in an attempt to lessen the heat. She couldn't help but let her mind race and she felt horrible for having such thoughts about someone who was merely trying to be nice to her.

It took her a while but Alice finally calmed down and stopped glancing at the panties every five seconds. The girls had been working for a while before Bella stood up from her chair and stretched.

"How are you getting along?" Bella asked, sauntering over to see what Alice was working on. Alice quickly placed one of her other books over the doodle of Bella's name with hearts around it that she had drawn during class. The last thing she needed was for Bella to find out about her crush.

"Fine I guess. It's just a bit hard for me to understand all of this still."

"What's your major?" Bella wondered as she looked over the meticulous notes that were written in the neatest handwriting Bella had ever seen. It made her chicken scrawl look like random scribbles.

"Architecture. I've always wanted to do it, but this stuff is so confusing I'm starting to wonder if I made the right choice." Alice surprised herself with the ease with which she spoke to Bella. She was not one to volunteer information, and yet here she was speaking calmly to the object of her affection.

"The first year is always the hardest, no matter what you're majoring in. One of my friends is doing architecture too and he always tells me that by the second year is a piece of cake."

"I hope so," Alice muttered before rubbing her eyes tiredly. Bella noticed the tired look on the girl's face and pulled the textbook out of her hands.

"Why don't you get some rest. It's late and the first years' dorms are pretty far from here. I'll take you back in the morning if you don't mind spending the night."

"No, I don't mind. Thank you." Alice wasn't sure if she even wanted to go back there. Lauren had made it pretty clear that she wasn't welcome there anymore, but what could she do? She didn't pick to be roommates with her.

Bella had gone off to her closet and came back with one of Edward's football jerseys and a pair of her own shorts.

"Here, you can sleep in these," Bella said, handing them to her. "I'm not sure if the shorts will fit, but it's all I've got." Alice blushed and took the clothes from Bella, mumbling a 'thank you' before going into the bathroom to change.

While she was pulling her clothes off, Alice couldn't help but let her eyes drift around the small bathroom. It was definitely better than the bathroom in the dorm she was in, and Bella didn't even have to share it. A flash of sky blue caught her eye and her curiosity got the best of her again. She wandered closer to the partially opened cabinet drawer and reached for the object.

Once it was in her hand, it took her a moment to realize what it was and her cheeks burned bright red - as was the norm now apparently - and she quickly shoved it back into the cabinet, knocking over some bottles in her haste.

"Crap," she hissed, trying to put everything back where it was.

Bella knocked on the bathroom door. "Everything okay in there?"

"Yes," Alice called out quickly, looking the door. "I just slipped." While she was distracted, her hand bumped into the blue vibrator again and she quickly pulled her hand away as if it had burned her.

When she finally came out of the bathroom, her face was flushed and her breathing slightly faster than normal.

"You okay?" Bella asked as she got up from her bed to check on the flustered girl. "You didn't hurt yourself did you?"

"No, I'm fine. I'm just clumsy," _and nosy_, she added in her head. "Uh, the shorts don't fit," she mumbled, her cheeks flaming again.

"Oh, sorry. Well you can sleep in the jersey and your underwear; it doesn't get that cold at night in this part of the building. Promise I won't try to peek," Bella added with a playful grin.

Alice managed a small chuckle before nervously pulling down at the hem of the jersey. It reached her mid-thigh, but she was never one up for showing much skin.

"Well you can use the empty bed," Bella said, bringing her out of her worrying. "If you need anything you can wake me up, okay?"

Alice nodded and mumbled another 'thank you'. As she pulled the blankets over herself, she couldn't get it out of her head that right in the other bed was laying someone who she had only ever dreamed about talking to.

Her excitement was short lived though, when she realized that Bella would probably never go for someone like her. With her looks, body and charm, Alice was positive that Bella could have any girl she wants. Sure, Bella had been nice to her, but that was probably because she just felt sorry for the short fat girl who was getting picked on by a bunch of seniors.

Alice's eyes watered a bit as she thought that and it was a long time before she finally managed to fall asleep.

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**Getting into some A/B interaction here :) Hope you enjoyed, and thank you for taking an interest in my story.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I should probably tell you guys that I don't have a beta... If you see any mistakes, my apologies, and I'd appreciate if you could point them out (either in a review or PM) so I can fix it.**

**So anyway! Chapter four, let's mock it like it's hot.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight still ain't mine.**

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_Chapter Four_

"What, so you just let her stay in your room last night?"

"Mhmm," Bella replied, not looking up from her notebook.

"And you only met her yesterday afternoon?" Angela asked, though it was more of a statement.

"Relax Ange, you're acting like I jumped into bed with her or something. I was just being nice."

"What's her name again?"

"Alice," Bella replied, unable to stop herself from smiling as she thought of the girl.

Angela noticed the look on Bella's face. "She might not even be into girls Bella."

"Jeez, you're starting to sound like you're jealous or something."

"Not jealous, worried. Remember what happened with Victoria last year?"

Of course she remembered. It had hurt her so much it was all she could think about for weeks afterwards.

"Alice isn't like that. And it doesn't even matter because I think you're right. She's probably not interested in girls anyway."

"Well don't feel discouraged. I'm just asking for you to be careful. Don't let yourself get hurt again."

Bella sighed and nodded, looking away from her friend and letting her eyes roam around the campus. The two were sitting on one of the picnic benches in the main courtyard and few students were up this early on a Saturday. Sure, it was almost midday, but when you sleep three to four hours a day, midday might as well be seven in the morning.

"How are you getting along with that assignment? Cullen really screwed your weekend over, huh?"

Bella sighed again. "Royally. I just need to collect a bit more info and reference it then I'll be done. It's not taking as long as I had thought, which I'm glad for."

"Well that's good. If you're done by tonight do you want to head over to the cafe with me, Jazz and Edward? As much as I love those two I'd rather not be a third wheel."

"I'll try my best to make it. How was the party last night?"

"Ooooh my god. I never knew Rosalie could dance like that."

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Bella combed through her hair quickly, pulling it back into its usual high ponytail. She shifted nervously in her boots as she applied a bit of lip gloss and rubbed her lips together to even it out. Her jeans were well fitting as they were, but she decided to just wear a belt for the sake of it.

After she had fastened it, she grabbed the pile of sheets from the floor next to the spare bed and tossed them onto it. Something fell out of the pile, and her eyes caught sight of Alice's notebook that had gotten itself hidden underneath the sheets. Alice had been about to remake the bed and had just managed to strip the sheets when Bella had woken up and insisted she would take care of it herself. Alice must be looking for it like crazy. Looking at her wrist watch, Bella figured she had enough time to go and return it to her.

She grabbed her favorite leather jacket that her mom had gotten for her back in high school and threw it over the tight t-shirt that alone would be useless against the cold.

It took her nearly ten minutes to reach the end of the campus where Alice's dorm should be. When she entered the building, most of the chatter died down to a whisper as the first years turned to look at her the way one would at seeing a dog walking on its front legs.

_I'm guessing they don't get a lot of visitors_, Bella thought to herself.

She walked up to the pin board that was mounted on the wall near the entrance. She scanned the room list that was posted there, glad that they hadn't yet removed it as they tended to after the first few weeks. She quickly found _Brandon_ and look across to see the room number _105_ then made her way to the elevator.

The noise had slowly started to increase again once the initial surprise had seemed to wear off and Bella was relieved that she didn't seem to be in the spotlight anymore.

The elevator dinged, announcing its arrival to the ground floor and Bella stepped in, pressing the button for the fourth floor and settling back against the railing. The elevator was as slow as Bella remembered it and she sighed then looked down at the notebook in her hand.

Curiously, she opened it to the first page and saw "Architecture" written in an elegant script with colorful swirls and stars and circles all around it. Bella smiled at how much Alice seemed to like the subject, despite the workload she had complained about yesterday.

Turning the pages slowly, she glanced up at the little light above the elevator door and rolled her eyes when she saw that it hadn't even reached the second floor yet. When she looked back down, she saw the page that Alice had been working on the previous night. Her eyes were drawn to another doodle that was in the bottom left corner of the page. Her name, written in that same swirly handwriting, with small red hearts in between the letters.

She felt a blush creep up on her face and her heart pick up a fast pace again. She couldn't stop looking at it and thinking of the implications of the doodle, so when the elevator finally dinged loudly as it arrived to the fourth floor, she nearly dropped the book when she jumped.

Shaking her head, she made her way out of the elevator and looked for Alice's door. When she reached it, she heard loud music coming from inside and figured she wouldn't be heard if she knocked so she just opened the door.

Then scene she saw as she entered made her vision blur with anger and she quickly strode across the room and pulled the blonde girl away from Alice who was cowering against a corner with her face hidden between her knees.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

There was a flash of fear in the blonde girl's eyes before she settled into an unimpressive glare, directed at the obviously much taller girl.

"It's none of your business."

"Alice is my friend so her safety is my business. You do realize that if I report you to the dean you could get suspended or worse." The girl's eyes widened and she tried to stammer out a response. "Save it. Should I catch you or hear about you bothering Alice again, I swear you'll regret the day you walked onto this campus."

She ignored the rapid nod from the girl and turned her attention to Alice who had now looked up and was looking up at Bella with relief clear in her eyes.

"You forgot your notebook in my room," Bella said, holding it up. Alice's eyes widened and blood rushed to her cheeks as she stood up and took it from her.

"You didn't open it, did you?"

"Just a few pages. I can tell you really love your major from all of the doodles I came across," Bella raised an eyebrow and smirked when the blush on Alice's cheeks intensified.

"W-Well it's um...it's a fun subject." Bella chuckled at how adorable Alice was when she stuttered like that.

"Are you doing anything tonight?"

Alice shook her head. "Not really."

"I'm gonna go with a few friends of mine to a cafe down the street. Do you want to come?"

"Well I don't have that much money with me-"

"Oh don't worry about that. I'll cover you. Come on, it's a Saturday. I promise it'll be fun." It took a little more coaxing, but Alice finally agreed, grabbing some clothes and heading to the bathroom to change.

Lauren felt she would drown in the tension as she sat quietly on her bed, feeling the older girl's eyes on her. Each time she glanced up from the book she was pretending to read, she was met by an unwavering cool gaze that betrayed no emotion. It was like she was being calculated and she never felt more open or intimidated in her life. She felt like each breath did not go by unnoticed and she prayed silently that Alice would hurry up so she could leave and take her friend with her. The older girl did nothing but watch her silently, swinging her right leg while the left was tucked under her where she sat on top of Alice's desk.

Eventually, Alice stepped out, wearing a pair of black pants and a top that Bella thought made her look adorable.

"Ready?"

"Yeah, I just need to find my phone." Eventually, Alice had to use Bella's phone to find her own which turned out to be hidden underneath her bed. She tried not to stare at Bella's behind in those snug jeans when she reached under the bed and pulled the phone out.

"Here you go. And now I have your number, one less thing I have to ask for," Bella said with a playful smile that left Alice blushing as she followed her out the door.

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**Thanks for all the reviews. I'm glad to see that so many of you enjoy reading this :)**

**By the way, with school starting up tomorrow I might not be able to update the story everyday as I have been so far. I won't keep weeks between updates, but it will become slightly irregular.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Haha! Your reviews made me smile. Thanks for all the encouragement!**

**Q&A: **No, Bella doesn't know yet how Alice feels about her, but she has an idea.

**Disclaimer: Wilightterb tillserb sn'tierb inemerb. Ferb latin ;) That isn't mine either :P**

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_Chapter Five_

"So, Alice, how's your first year going?" Alice smoothed down her jeans anxiously, wondering what was taking Bella so long in the bathroom with Angela.

"Um It's okay I guess. Kinda hard to get used to such a big campus, ya know?" she mumbled with a nervous laugh.

"Yeah, I remember that," Jasper said with a smile that managed to calm her down a bit.

"Bella told us you're majoring in Architecture," Edward said, leaning his forearms on the table.

"Y-Yeah, I am."

"So am I, my mom kind of got me into it."

"She's an architect?"

"Not really, she's an interior decorator. Though that often comes with remodeling a house; you know, moving a few walls, adding windows, stuff like that."

"That's really cool," Alice said, a look of wonder in her eyes. "Does she-"

"Okay, we're back," Angela announced, sitting back on her spot. Bella followed behind her with less enthusiasm.

"What took you guys so long?" Jasper asked, looking back and forth between the two girls.

Bella shook her head, pulling her glass closer to her. "Nothing important." Angela scoffed, drawing looks from the other three, though no one said anything.

It was going to be a few minutes before their food arrived, so they spent it getting to know Alice more and time seemed to move quicker.

"So how old were you when you got adopted Alice?" Bella asked, looking directly at her.

Alice couldn't reply immediately because the look in Bella's eyes dazed her for a second. "Uh...when I was five." Bella nodded, not asking more than that in case Alice didn't want to talk about it.

"So how much different is Mississippi from here?" Angela asked. "I can only imagine it must be hard being so far from home."

Alice just shrugged. "It has its moments. I enjoy the freedom, but at the same time it's hard not to feel alone when you're in a school with thousands of other students."

"Well you just gotta find where you fit in then it won't be so bad. Bella and I went to the same high school so we just kinda stuck together. It definitely made things a lot easier."

Alice briefly wondered if the two were more than friends but then dismissed the idea, not wanting to assume anything.

Their food arrived then and the chatter dwindled. Alice made a note to come back to the cafe some time in the future because not only was the food good, but it also wouldn't put a strain on her budget.

She looked up discreetly, noticing the way the other four interacted with each other. It was obvious to see that they were all very close and probably nothing would change that. Her eyes lingered longer on Bella than the others, watching the way her eyes crinkled as she smiled or laughed, the way her eyes always looked so alive and happy. She watched as Jasper picked a french fry off Bella's plate and grin mischievously. Bella narrowed her eyes and reached over to his plate, picking up his burger and taking a huge bite out of it before returning it.

"Hey!"

Bella just shrugged with a triumphant smile as she chewed. Alice found herself smiling too in response, unable to keep herself from watching Bella.

A gentle nudge against her shin under the table made her jump and turn to find Edward looking at her with a smirk. He glanced at Bella before looking back at Alice and raising a teasing eyebrow. Alice could only blush and look back at her plate, hoping he wouldn't say anything.

By the end of the afternoon, Alice was positive that Edward and maybe Jasper had picked up on her little crush and she cursed herself for being so obvious. The only one who didn't quite seem to like her yet was Angela, and it made Alice feel nervous.

When it was time to leave, she waved goodbye to Bella's friends nervously, blushing again at the curious glances they cast between Bella and herself. Bella didn't seem to pick up on it and she said her goodbyes, placing her hand on Alice's lower back to lead her out of the cafe. It was all Alice could do not to turn into a puddle of mush from the contact.

"Did you enjoy yourself? I know it must've been a bit weird to hang out with people older than you, but I hope it wasn't too awkward."

Alice shrugged and smiled, "Not at all, they all seem very nice. You guys looked pretty close, especially with Angela," Alice couldn't help but add with a sour note that Bella was able to pick up.

"Don't worry about her. She can be a bit intimidating when she's looking out for someone she cares about."

"Oh, so you guys are..." Alice trailed off suggestively, trying not to seem too interested in the answer. She was surprised when Bella laughed.

"Me and Angela? No way, that's just wrong. I mean, she's my best friend, but I don't think I could ever see her as anything more than that. I guess that's because I've known her for so long; we practically grew up together, you know?"

Alice felt relieved at hearing that. Even if by a fraction, she now stood a better chance with Bella. In her head, at least.

When the two walked into the lobby of Alice's dorm building, the noise level decreased noticeably. Bella, having learned to ignore it, kept moving forward and paid them no mind. Alice, however, couldn't help but glance every few seconds at the eyes that were trained on them, the heat in her cheeks increasing steadily.

"Let's take the stairs," Bella said, grabbing Alice's hand. "I have no patience for that stupid elevator." Alice could only nod and follow, wanting to be away from all the curious glances.

The stairs were build oddly and went on for longer than most, so by the time they reached the second floor, Alice was breathing heavily, a thin film of sweat building on her brow. Bella didn't even look like she was trying and that was frustrating to her. It didn't help that they were moving quickly and she was already feeling a burn in her thighs. By then, she had pulled her hand out of Bella's, not wanting her to notice how clammy it had gotten.

Finally, they reached the fourth floor. Bella immediately began walking in the direction of Alice's room, but a weak voice stopped her. She turned back and saw Alice leaning against the wall, her chest moving up and down rapidly.

"You okay?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.

"Yeah. I told you I'm the least sporty person on earth." Bella had walked back to Alice and was brushing her damp hair out of her face gently.

"It's not for everyone," she replied with a soft smile. "And to be fair, those stairs killed me during my first year too. With the only other option being this elevator, it's like being caught between a rock and a hard place."

"Yeah," Alice mumbled, blushing at Bella's proximity. "But it really sucks sometimes how I'm not very sporty. I hate how I look. I mean, look at you. I've seen you running around that field, you hardly break a sweat."

Bella chuckled bashfully. "That's just to do with practise. You get used to it the more you do it."

"Then show me." Alice bit her lip, wondering if she was being too forward. "I mean, if you want or i-if you-"

"I'd be happy to," Bella said with a chuckle, cutting off Alice's nervous rambling.

"Really?"

Bella shrugged, "Sure. Besides, it would be fun to have a running buddy; Angela doesn't really like getting sweaty."

"Well aren't you gonna be really busy?" Alice asked as they began making their way to her room. "You know, with school and stuff how are you gonna have the time?"

Bella shook her head, "I'm usually free on weekends, as you can see. I'll probably spend most of tomorrow sleeping if I manage to keep Angela away long enough. Then again, tomorrow's a Sunday and that girl hardly gets out of bed on Sundays." A hopeful look now entered her eyes, "So how 'bout it?"

It took only a moment of contemplating before Alice nodded. "Okay. But I'm telling you now, I really suck at anything related to exercise."

"Well just for the record, I don't think there's anything wrong with your body. You're beautiful." Alice blushed and looked away. She found herself becoming more and more comfortable around the older girl in a way that she couldn't explain.

When they entered the room, Lauren was not no longer there. One of the two windows was open, the wind making the light curtain flare out gently.

"Thanks for coming with me, I knew the others would enjoy meeting you."

"Well thank you for inviting me. I'll pay you back for the food somehow."

Bella shook her head, "Nah, don't worry about it. It was on me."

Alice nodded, smiling. "Guess I'll see you around then."

"Yeah, and enjoy the rest of your weekend. You know where to find me if anyone bothers you."

Alice nodded, giving one last wave as Bella left the room and shut the door behind her. It took her a moment to realize why she felt so different at that moment. For the first time in weeks since she got here, she actually felt cared for and _happy_. It was a feeling that she hoped would last.

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**Now we're getting to the good stuff :) Reviews are always welcome, and thank you to those who have been reviewing so far!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the delay, I've been kinda busy with school. Happy Valentines day to you all! :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

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_Chapter Six_

One large swirl, then a smaller one. Two small hearts near belly of the larger swirl, a triangle in the centre of the smaller one. The doodle was slowly taking form as Alice added more and more details. A capital 'B' slowly appeared amidst all the small shapes and lines. Alice could feel herself smiling softly as she continued to move her pencil along the otherwise empty page of her notebook. She barely registered what her professor was explaining as all her attention was fixed on the design in front of her.

Finally, when the others around her started shuffling and murmuring she looked up, confused. It took her a moment to realize that the other students were taking out their sketchpads and she hurriedly did the same.

"You have the rest of class, that's about thirty minutes, to experiment however you wish with these," the professor spoke as she handed out a box of charcoal pencils to each student. "This is the only set that you will receive from me. If you choose to abuse them, that's up to you, but there are no extras."

Alice opened up her box once she received it and brought it up to her nose. She let out a satisfied sigh at the smell of new stationary.

"They are not food," the professor continued, looking pointedly at Alice who was now blushing while the other students giggled, "and I expect that you use this time wisely. I want to see what you come up with at the end of your time, and for the sake of your grade it better look like you put some real effort in. You may begin."

Alice opened her sketchbook to a blank page and tried to think of what to draw. It didn't take her long to find some inspiration, and soon she was putting pencil to paper. She switched between pencils often, testing the look and texture of each pencil as she used it. Some were better for shading to create depth, while others worked better for outlining and bold shapes.

By the end of the thirty minutes, the memorized image of her birth mother was on the page. It was the only thing she had with her when she was adopted, and the only thing she owned that connected her in some way to whatever family she used to have in the past. The actual photo was tucked safely in her room on the fifth page of her journal, worn out from the many times she handled it.

She would sometimes spend hours staring at that image of her mother dressed in a hospital gown with a small bundle surrounded by a soft green blanket in her arms. Her face was angled at the camera with a tired but happy smile that made her face look radiant.

The drawing Alice had in front of her only showed her mother's face, with as many details as she could put in the time given. From her almond-shaped eyes and thin eyebrows, to her slim nose and full lips. Her long dark hair was tied in a sloppy ponytail and some of it hung loose well past her shoulders, creating a frame around her face.

Alice felt the professor's presence behind her and her heart started beating faster as she waited to hear her opinion.

"She's beautiful. Looks a lot like you."

"Thanks," Alice mumbled, not sure what else she could say.

"Very nice shading around the edges of her face. Well done, Alice."

Alice felt her ears heating up. "T-thank you," she stammered out, trying to reign in her nervousness.

This was probably her favorite class out of all of the ones she took. It barely felt like she was doing work because she enjoyed it so much and was always up to whatever task they were given.

Carefully, she closed her sketchbook and put away the well used pencils. Considering the softness of the lead and how much of it she had used, it wouldn't be long before she had to get herself a new set.

The bell rang before her professor got a chance to look at everyone's work and there were audible sighs of relief from those whose books were not checked.

"Don't think you're getting off so easily. If I haven't seen your book yet, leave it on my desk and you can come to collect it at the end of the day." Despite the grumbling and protests, they did as asked and soon enough everyone was rushing for the door.

Alice headed for the courtyard since she had two free periods before her next class. She found an empty spot under a shady tree and sat down before looking around to see how many people were out at the same time.

Suddenly, a pair of hands came around her face and covered her eyes.

"Guess who," came a whisper against her ear. She didn't need to guess; no other voice could make her insides twist together the way they were now.

"Bella."

"Ugh, damn it," the taller girl exclaimed, taking a seat next to Alice. "What gave it away? It was my wrist cuff, wasn't it?"

Alice nodded, not wanting to tell her the real reason. "Sure."

Bella sighed, "It's always the cuff. So, what are you doing out here?"

"I've got two frees right now, and I don't really have anything to do so..."

She nodded. "I get that. I haven't had any classes today so I'm just wandering around. I couldn't stay up in my room any longer though. Being alone drives you crazy after a while."

Alice nodded, moving her hair behind her ear nervously.

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry. I didn't even ask if you mind me joining you."

"No no, please stay. I like hanging out with you."

"Are you sure? Because I could go," Bella said as she pulled out a backpack and started unloading the contents.

Alice rolled her eyes and laughed, "Yeah right. And yes, I'm sure."

"Great! Because I have been walking around with this checkers game looking for a worthy opponent. Well, any opponent really. No one else is out at this time."

"Well why didn't you just go to the field like you usually do?"

Bella shrugged, setting up the board pieces. "I don't really feel like doing any practise today."

"Well you're going to have to teach me how it's played first." Bella chuckled. "I'm serious Bella, I've never played before."

The older girl looked up to see if it was a joke. "Well that's...interesting," she murmured, the confusion clear in her voice.

It didn't take very long to explain the rules, and soon enough the two were playing smoothly. For the first two games, Bella tried to go easy so the other girl could get more comfortable. By the fourth round, she was having to wrack her brain as she tried to figure out how to stop Alice from winning.

"Either you lied to me about not playing before, or you're a really fast learner."

Alice took out the last red piece on the board, winning her third game in a row. "And so the student becomes the master, classic turnout."

Bella just huffed and packed the game away. Checkers was the one board game she was good at and she had just been beaten by a beginner.

"Oh, don't be hard on yourself. To be fair I had a really good teacher," she said, the inevitable blush making its appearance.

"Yeah, I am pretty awesome, aren't I?" Bella said with a grin, dodging the smack Alice tried to land on her shoulder.

"So where should I meet you tomorrow for the running thing?"

"Wherever you like, I don't really mind."

"Okay, how about we meet at the field then?"

Bella nodded, letting her eyes wander across the courtyard. "Let's meet at 9. You're gonna need to eat breakfast, you'll need the energy."

After handling all of the logistics, the two sat around under the shade in comfortable silence. Bella produced two juice boxes and two apples from her backpack, giving one of each to Alice.

"Do you also carry around a first aid kit in there?" Alice asked with a chuckle that died away when Bella pulled out the small red box. "You're kidding."

"I'm a klutz, believe it or not."

Alice just tilted her head to the side.

Bella pretended to rummage through her bag, "I also have a full course meal, a set of golfing clubs and emergency plane tickets to Peru."

"Can it also do your laundry?"

"Nah, I was gonna get that one, but they were out of stock."

"Bummer."

"Yeah."

Eventually, Alice had shifted to lay her head on Bella's lap and was so comfortable she was starting to fall asleep.

The older girl kept a close eye on the clock, aware that Alice still had a class to go to. In the mean time she entertained herself by playing with Alice's short dark hair, wondering briefly what it would look like if she grew it long. The chin-length hair she had now framed her face well and made her look so cute, especially when she smiled.

Bella smiled a bit to herself as she looked over Alice's face. Her eyes were closed, which was a shame because she loved looking at them, and she had long slightly curled eyelashes. She moved her eyes down to the slightly pink full lips, and it was all she could do to not trace them with her finger or press her own lips against them. But god, did she want to.

All too soon her wrist watch beeped, letting her know that Alice had fifteen minutes to get to her next class. She felt bad about having to wake her, but it was necessary.

"Hey sleepyhead," Bella whispered as she gently shook Alice's shoulder. The girl's eyes slowly fell open, looking around in a confused manner before she seemed to remember where she was.

"Hey," she replied with a sleepy smile that dropped as soon as she realized she had fallen asleep. "Oh god, I'm late!"

"Relax, you're not late. You have fifteen minutes." Alice visibly relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks. I better get going."

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow morning," Bella replied with a happy grin. "Wear something comfortable."

"Will do," Alice called back behind her as she made her way to class.

Bella tried not to seem too creepy watching the girl leave, but it wasn't her fault that she found the girl so darn cute. A large part of herself was already missing her presence.

Eventually, she grabbed her backpack off the ground and made her way to the library. The least she could do was try not to waste her day completely.

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**I know it's been a while, but I hope that was as good as it was fun writing.**

**Reviews and million dollar cheques are welcome ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you for all of the positive feedback! I'm glad you guys enjoy this fic :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

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_Chapter Seven_

Bella let her legs swing back and forth under her as she sat on the railing near the entrance to the field. Her eyes wandered lazily to her wrist watch and she noticed that it was nearly nine o'clock; Alice would be here any minute.

Just as she thought that, she felt a hand tap her on the shoulder. Glancing over, she saw Alice standing there dressed in black sweat pants and a t-shirt with a gym bag in her hand. The light blush that never seemed to leave the girl's cheeks made her appear so innocent that Bella felt horrible about the thoughts she sometimes found herself having about the girl.

"Hi," Alice said in a shy voice, "you weren't waiting long for me were you?"

Bella hopped off the railing and held her hand out for Alice's gym bag. "No, you're right on time. I'll go drop your bag in my locker for safe keeping, is that alright?" Alice just nodded, her hands twisting the cap on her water bottle nervously.

Once Bella got back, the two made their way onto the running track which was only being used by one other person.

"Alright. First thing is always stretching, no matter what exercise you're gonna be doing-"

"It's not gonna be hard, is it?" Alice interrupted nervously, her eyebrows scrunching together and tilting upward.

"Don't worry about that. I won't do anything more than what I think you can handle. And if it's too much, you can just ask me to stop or slow down." She still looked nervous, but the reassurance did calm her down some.

Glancing around, she was relieved to see that there weren't as many people out on the field as there seemed to be on other days. That would mean less people to see her flail as she tried to keep up with Bella. She could just imagine the whispers, the pointing, what they would all think abou-

"Alice!"

She jumped, her eyes popping wide open as she came out of her thoughts. Her gaze came to rest on Bella who was looking at her worriedly.

"Are you alright? You look like something's bothering you."

Alice shook her head, telling herself to focus. "No, no I'm fine. Sorry, I just got lost in thought."

Bella nodded. "Alright, well let's get started with the stretching then."

The two got into a comfortable pattern of Bella leading and Alice copying the stretches. A couple were beyond the realm of her flexibility, but for the most part she was able to mimic them with ease.

"Alright, now that your muscles are nice and warm, we can get on with the actual work!" Despite the encouraging smile on Bella's face, Alice still noticed her heart beating faster at her words.

Bella led the two over to the running track and took a look at her wrist watch. Meanwhile, Alice's eyes were shooting around rapidly, worry creasing her brow as she thought of the people, though they were few, who would be watching her.

"I want you to find a pace that's comfortable for you; don't push yourself too hard this early on. Are you ready?" Alice could only nod, "Okay, let's go."

Both girls broke off into a gentle jog next to each other. Bella made sure that she kept her pace at the same speed as Alice's, and also that she didn't start running ahead of the girl. They both went on strong for about a lap and a half until Alice's stride faltered and she stopped, doubling over and panting.

"No no, come on. If you're tired don't stop, just slow down or walk." She let out a whine of protest but did as Bella advised.

After a few minutes of walking around the track, Alice found herself calm and was able to start jogging again when Bella suggested it.

It went on in the same pattern for almost half an hour until Alice gave up and stopped jogging again.

"No more. Please, my legs are killing me." Bella nodded, walking back to where Alice had stopped abruptly and rubbed her back.

"That was very good! We went on for nearly thirty minutes."

"Felt more like hours to me," Alice grumbled, trying not to shudder at the feeling of Bella's warm hand running up and down her back.

"Don't worry, the more we do this, the more you'll get used to it. I think that's enough jogging for today, let's move back onto the grass."

When she saw Bella taking a seat on the ground, Alice breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they would just relax for some time. She grabbed her water bottle and gulped down almost half of it thirstily.

"Nothing like a few sit ups to shake off a good jog, no?"

Alice just stared at her. "You're joking."

"I'm quite serious actually," Bella replied with a chuckle. "Come on, it won't be that bad."

Shaking her head, Alice took a seat a short distance away from Bella. Her t-shirt was already damp with sweat and she was well aware of that fact.

"How about we aim for twenty?"

"Ten."

"Fifteen."

"Fine."

"Let's take turns, you do sit-ups while I hold your feet down and then we can swap afterwards." Alice nodded, not knowing until they were in position how potentially intimate the pose was. "Okay, are you ready?" She nodded.

With each sit-up, Bella tried to keep her eyes on the girl's feet or face while she counted. A few times her eyes accidentally wandered to Alice's chest or space between her bent legs that was less than a foot away from her.

_Stop it Bella!_

_I'm trying, for goodness' sake._

She was brought out of her thoughts when she noticed that Alice had stopped.

"Where have you reached?"

"Eleven," Alice managed to squeeze out between pants.

"If you need to stop, that's okay. We can switch and aim for more next time." Alice nodded gratefully, sitting up and kneeling next to Bella's legs and holding her feet down.

As Bella started counting, Alice noticed that her eyes were shut. She took the opportunity to look at Bella, watching the way her legs tensed each time she pulled her upper body up, the way her strong-looking arms helped her to maintain balance, how her lips moved barely as she counted off the numbers under her breath.

"Fifteen!" Bella counted as she did her final sit-up. She fell back against the grass afterwards and ran her hands over her face. "How're you feeling right now?"

It took Alice a moment to answer as she thought about it. "Great actually. I expected to feel exhausted and spent but after resting for a bit it's actually not so bad."

"That's good! Now imagine how you'll feel after you've been doing it for a few weeks. If you keep practising, you'll be able to go much further and for longer."

Alice nodded, grabbing her bottle again and drinking from it. She sighed, wiping the water off her top lip and saw Bella from the corner of her eye as she drank hers.

"Good use of a Sunday, huh? Do you feel like taking a shower now?"

"Oh god, yes please!" The two made their way to the shower, already talking about what they would do for next time. Alice's legs were still hurting, and with every step she felt like her knees would buckle. The fact that she would be naked in the same room as Bella had not occurred to her until they were already inside the locker room and Bella had pulled her tank-top off.

"Follow me, my locker is this way."

They walked over to it and Alice couldn't keep her eyes away from Bella's glistening back and the two dimples just above the waistband of her shorts. She waited nervously while Bella opened her locker and took out her bag.

"We're lucky there aren't so many people here, all the showers are empty."

Alice stood with her gym bag clutched in her hands while she watched frozen as Bella continued to undress openly. She watched as her shoes were removed, then her shorts disappeared, then her sports bra, and her fingers were hooked under the waistband of her panties when she turned to face Alice.

"Do you need to borrow anything for the shower?" Bella asked as she looked up, finally noticing the wide-eyed look on Alice's red face. Her eyes were trained on her naked chest while her grip on the gym bag tightened.

"Um...uh..."

"Shit, I'm sorry. I shouldn't hav-"

"No! I mean, don't worry about it," Alice stumbled over her words as she turned her back, her blush creeping down her neck. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have stared-"

"No, I should've undressed somewhere else-"

"I shouldn't ha-"

"Okay, we won't get anywhere with this. Let's just...forget it happened?"

Alice rolled her eyes. As if she would ever forget _that_. "Sure."

Bella walked over to the shower and a minute later the water started and some steam was escaping.

Alice started undressing after making sure no one else was near, then quickly made her way to the shower while wrapped in a towel. The moment she turned the tap on, she realized that she had a problem.

"Um, Bella?"

"Yeah?" she heard from two showers over.

"I forgot my soap. Could I borrow yours please?" She heard a shower curtain being pulled open then the sound of wet feet walking along the ground.

"Here," came a voice behind her. Her heart skipped until she turned around as saw that Bella was still standing outside and had just reached her hand in with the soap.

"Thanks," she murmured, taking it and listening as she heard Bella make her way back to her own shower.

The two remained silent then until Alice finished up and turned her water off. She secured the towel around herself and made her way out.

"Are you done with the soap?"

"Oh, yes, thank you. And sorry for making you wait."

"Don't worry about it, I had to shampoo my hair anyway." As Alice passed the soap to Bella, she caught a glimpse of the older girl's naked back and long wet hair. Tempted as she was to let her eyes wander lower, she forced herself to turn around and start changing.

By the time Bella was done in the shower, Alice was ready and now sat waiting on the bench. Just as before, Bella seemed comfortable around Alice even in minimal clothing, or in this case none at all. Although Alice did turn away out of politeness, it still didn't help to know that less then three feet away from her the girl she had been fawning over since she first saw her was getting dressed.

It seemed like forever before the two finally made their way outside again, and Alice was glad to have the crisp air to help clear her thoughts.

"Do you need company on the way to your dorm?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Alice replied; she couldn't risk doing or saying something stupid. "Thanks for today, I'm glad you offered to help me out with..." she trailed off, gesturing towards the field.

"Nah, think nothing of it. You know I like spending time with you." Inevitably, that comment made the girl blush. "Guess I'll see you around then."

"Yeah, bye," Alice mumbled, offering a small slightly awkward wave before turning around and walking towards her room.

Bella, as usual, found herself watching after the girl as she walked away. "Bye," she sighed quietly.

Maybe she had been too obvious about wanting to be closer to Alice. Would she find that creepy? She did seem kind of uncomfortable when she left. What if she didn't show up next week? Or didn't want to talk to her again?

_Goodness Bella, calm down._

She shook her head and noticed that Alice had already disappeared behind the corner. She twirled her water bottle in her hand for a moment before walking in the direction of Angela's dorm. At the moment she was in desperate need of a distraction.

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**That was fun to write :) Feedback (good or bad) is always welcome.**

**Till next time ( '-')**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you to everyone who has taken an interest and is following this story :3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

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_Chapter Eight_

Bella scrolled quickly through the music on her iPod, trying to find another good song before the current one ended. After checking and re-checking the playlist, she gave up and clicked the shuffle button.

Thankfully Angela's dorm room was not far from Bella's, and that enabled the two to study together whenever it became necessary. Mrs. Cullen made sure it was always necessary. During the first few classes, Bella was sure that the woman was out to make her life hell, but Mrs. Cullen's excuse was that she didn't want to seem like she was favoring her just because she was close friends with Jasper and Rosalie. Bella could only imagine how tough she must be on Jasper because he's her nephew. She made a note to herself to hug him tightly the next time she came across him.

As she rounded the corner, she saw a familiar head of short black hair crouched against the wall next to her door.

"Alice?"

The girl looked up and Bella noticed the miserable look in her eyes immediately.

"Alice what's wrong? What're you doing here?"

"Can I stay with you please? Just for tonight, I promise." Bella's eyes narrowed at how raw and tired her voice sounded; like she had been crying.

"Is it your roommate again?" Alice didn't respond, instead fixing her eyes on her laces and tugging on the hanging loop. "Alice."

She sighed. "Please don't tell anyone."

"What do you mean 'don't tell anyone'?" Bella scoffed. "That girl has been bullying you for a long time as far as I know, and last time I checked running away doesn't solve problems."

"I just don't want you to go beat her up and get yourself suspended or something. Then it would be on your record, and it's all my fault." Bella shook her head and sighed. This girl was something else.

"Come on, let's get inside."

Alice stood up and walked into the room behind Bella. She hated to think that she was running away from her problems, but she couldn't stay there for a moment longer. She thought once again about telling a teacher or someone about it, but she was almost nineteen; she could handle her own issues.

"You're welcome to stay as long as you need to," came Bella's voice, making Alice jump as she was pulled out of her thoughts. "Do you have clothes with you?"

Alice blushed slightly and nodded. Hopefully Bella wouldn't find it creepy that she somehow knew Bella would allow her to stay.

"That's good. Well you've been in here before, you know where stuff is. If you want snacks, the mini-fridge is over there. The bathroom's over here. Just let me know if you ever want to invite people over, assuming that you want to stay here for long."

Alice nodded, her face heating up even more for reasons she did not know.

Bella sighed again. "You're going to have to tell me eventually what Lauren's deal is with you. You can't hide out in my room forever you know."

"I can try," Alice muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing." Bella raised an eyebrow but didn't push further.

"If you say so. Mi casa es su casa. Make yourself comfortable."

Alice was looking through her overstuffed backpack, searching for her art book which she just then realized she had left in her haste to leave the dorm before Lauren came back. She groaned out loud before she could stop herself.

"What's wrong?" Bella asked, glancing up from her iPod.

"Nothing, I just...I left my sketchbook back in my dorm. I need it to do my homework for tomorrow."

"I can go and get it for you if you want."

"No no, I don't want to make you-"

"Nah, don't worry about it. I don't have anything to do anyway." Bella was up and out the door before Alice could protest further.

Part of her was glad that she didn't have to go back to her room with the possibility of bumping into Lauren, but another part worried about what Bella might do. Would she act irrationally? She could get suspended. What if Lauren and her friends gang up on her? Bella would be outnumbered. She wouldn't stand a chance.

_Woah Alice. Calm down._ She shook her head and continued to pull things out of her backpack, dumping them onto the single bed covered in the same blue comforter as it was the last time she slept over.

In an attempt to distract herself until Bella came back, she decided to explore the room a bit more; she hadn't really gotten the chance to do so during her first visit. The space was huge and Alice wondered to herself if Bella ever got lonely being without a roommate. Probably not, but Alice entertained the thought nonetheless.

She looked over the randomly placed pictures around the room, most of them containing people that Alice didn't recognize. There was one of Bella with a man who she assumed was her father because of the similarities in their appearance. The two were both sitting on reclined chairs with fishing poles tucked under their arm while they dosed off. Everything about their posture was the same, even their mouths were hanging slightly open the same way. Alice chuckled and wondered who had taken the picture. Bella's mother maybe, but she had never mentioned her before so Alice wasn't sure what their family dynamic was.

She moved on to other pictures, coming across many of Bella with Rosalie, Jasper or Edward or all three together. They must've known each other for a long time, or at least spent a lot of their time together.

She turned away from the pictures, her eyes taking in the movie and band posters on the walls of the room. She was pleased to find out that Bella's tastes were similar to her own, that was one less thing to think about at least.

Spinning on her heal, she noticed a few more things in the room. Her curiosity got the best of her again when her eyes landed on the open closet. Her eyes scanned across the clothes on the hangers first, then onto the piled up clothes on the shelves. She appreciated neatness, and there was none of that here.

_We can't agree on everything I guess_, she thought with a sigh.

Just as she was preparing to turn away, a familiar flash of light blue caught her eye. She squinted to get a better look, before recognizing the vibrator she had knocked over in the bathroom a couple of weeks back. Her face heated as her mind ran through various scenarios and possibilities. Quickly she made her way back to the bed, taking her phone in hand and twirling it around so she could distract herself.

She couldn't stop her mind from wandering, but if Bella came back in she would definitely know something was up because of the blush creeping on Alice's face and neck. How often did Bella use the thing? Had she used it recently? Maybe that's why it was in a different place. Or maybe she had two - Alice didn't want to check. Bella would be back any minute and might think she had been snooping. Well, technically she was snooping. Well maybe-

"Honey, I'm hooome!" Bella called out with a grin as she walked back into the room. "That roommate of yours is a coward, by the way."

"Huh?" Alice managed to get out, her heart hammering as she wondered if Bella would be able to tell what she had been doing. "Oh, um...wait, what happened?"

Bella just shrugged with that same mischievous grin on her face. "Nothing of particular importance. Here's your book."

"Thanks. You didn't do anything that would get you in trouble, did you?"

Bella just made a zipping motion across her lips and winked. "Just let me know whenever you need anything else from there." Alice's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but she let the subject drop.

With her sketchbook, Alice was able to get on with her homework. She kept glancing over from where she sat at the unoccupied desk to see what Bella was doing. For the most part she just lay on her bed with headphones on while she read a book that Alice had never heard of. It looked like the type to have hundreds of pages and tiny print; Alice hated those.

Eventually, the silence was broken when Bella asked if Alice was hungry. The two agreed to go to the same cafe that Bella had taken her to to meet her friends and soon they were out of the room and headed off campus.

It wasn't long before they reached the cafe, and Bella asked for a table for two. They were led to an empty table in the back, and Alice was about to pull out her chair and take a seat when she heard a throat clearing. Looking up, she saw that Bella had pulled out the other chair and was standing behind it, her head tilted towards it meaningfully.

Alice smiled and made her way to the other side of the table, "Thanks."

"Anytime."

The place wasn't very crowded since it was a weekday, so the noise level stayed pretty low. The two talked about anything they could think of, their classes, homework, family - which gave Alice the chance to ask about Bella's mother.

"My parents had their problems, but I guess they had enough time to work through them," Bella explained while swirling her straw in her glass of apple juice. "They married each other again about five years ago and it was kinda weird for me but I always wished as a kid that they would get back together so I'm not complaining."

"Do they know you're um..."

"Gay?" Bella finished when Alice seemed to trail off. She got a nod and blush in response. "My mom knew before I did. Telling her was much scarier in my head than what actually happened. My dad took a while longer to come around but he only found out after he got back together with mom, so she helped me with explaining everything to him."

Alice nodded but stayed silent, mulling it over in her head. She always thought about how her parents would react if she ever told them, but never had the guts to actually say anything.

"Does it bother you?" Bella asked, her hand pausing its movement.

"No, of course not. I already knew because I heard from people around campus..."

"Yeah, I figured," Bella said with a nod, their conversation stopping as the food arrived.

The night wore on and long after they had finished eating they still continued to speak about other things, mostly Alice asking about Bella's childhood, until it got late enough that they needed to head back.

On the way to the dorm, Alice couldn't help but shiver in the cold despite the jacket she had on.

"Still not used to the weather, huh?"

"Unfortunately," she managed to get out, wrapping her arms around herself as they continued walking. Her step faltered when she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and a warm body press against her side.

"You should borrow one of my jackets next time. It's almost always cold where I grew up so most of my clothes are pretty warm."

Staying warm wasn't so much of an immediate problem for Alice as her face and neck heated up from the proximity. Goodness, she smelled so good. "Uh huh," she finally stumbled out. They continued to walk that way, with Bella's arm wrapped around her, and Alice paid special attention to her feet so she wouldn't trip and ruin the potential moment. She reluctantly moved away when Bella removed her arm at the door, trying not to show her disappointment.

They quietly made their way up the stairs then down the corridor to Bella's room.

"I'm exhausted," Bella sighed, rubbing her eyes.

"Me too, but I had fun. And thanks for letting me pay for myself this time."

Bella chuckled, "Don't get used to it."

Bella disappeared into the bathroom and after a moment Alice could hear the shower running. She took out her sleeping clothes and put away her books as she tried to keep her mind off the fact that a single door was the only thing separating her from seeing Bella's naked body.

Eventually Bella stepped out dressed in plaid boxers paired with a tank top while she ran a towel through her hair.

"All yours," she said with a smile as she threw herself onto her bed. She watched as Alice grabbed her clothes and headed into the bathroom. The sound of the door clicking shut was soon followed by the flow of water, and she quickly grabbed her headphones and turned the music up. No need to tempt herself any more than necessary.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed reading that :) I'm done with most of the stepping stones now; you guys are gonna love the next few chapters.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**Hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

_Chapter Nine_

"Oh come on Bella! Tell me you're not that blind."

Bella sighed for what felt like the millionth time that morning. "It just doesn't make sense to me Ange."

The other girl shook her head, pity in her gaze. "Now that's just sad. The girl has a crush on you from here to Pluto. Heck I could see it on that first day at the cafe-"

"But why would she like me Ange? We only met this year, it's not like we knew each other before then."

"You didn't know her, but maybe she noticed you. You're the vice captain of the football team, plus your name was on the lips of anyone who could speak when word got around school that you're gay. Think about it Bella."

Bella just shook her head and turned back around. She had been living in her dorm with Alice for two weeks now and never got a hint that the girl liked her as more than a friend. Angela was probably just imagining things.

"If you say so Ange. I gotta change out of these sweaty clothes. Would you mind collecting the footballs for me?"

"Sure, no problem."

She jogged over to the locker rooms with her mind only halfway there. Alice didn't really have a crush on her, did she? That was too good to be true.

* * *

It had been almost a week since speaking with Angela when Bella started to think that maybe her best friend's theory wasn't so far fetched after all. She noticed little things: the way Alice looked at her, the way her smile widened whenever their eyes met, and the blush that almost permanently adorned the girl's cheeks whenever they spoke. At first, she thought that she was just seeing things; making them up based on her own wishful thinking, but after the pattern continued, she knew it was more than that.

Bella was currently laying on her bed with her headphones in while Alice was in the shower. Her eyes were closed with her hands held together behind her head as she listened to the music playing. Her head bopped up and down in time with the music as she sang along to it.

A moment later, she heard the sound of the bathroom door opening and looked up to see Alice with a towel over her head rubbing it dry. Her eyes wandered down absently, smiling when she caught sight of Alice's furry green slippers, before she closed them again.

Alice made her way back into the bedroom, glancing at briefly at Bella and seeing her with a smile on her face. For a moment she wondered what was on the girl's mind then shook her head. She needed to stop being so curious about things like that. It would give her away some day, if it had not already.

She grabbed her sketchbook and pencil from the desk that had slowly become hers and sat down on the bed with the book open to a new page. She tapped her pencil against the page rhythmically as she thought of what to draw. Nothing seemed to inspire her, and she found herself still staring at a blank page five minutes later.

She looked up and saw that Bella had moved to sit at her desk, leaving her headphones abandoned on the bed. She got distracted watching the girl play with her rubik's cube that apparently she had been trying to solve ever since her dad got it for her years before. Alice's record for solving one was four minutes, but she didn't tell Bella that; the girl seemed determined to solve it by herself.

"You like me, don't you?" The words were so out of the blue that it took a while for them to register in her head, but when they did Alice blushed wildly.

"Huh?" she asked, wide-eyed.

Bella turned around in her chair, putting the cube down on the desk. "You've been staring at me with this goofy grin for a while now; I can see your reflection off the window." If possible, Alice's blush intensified under the older girl's gaze. "And not only today; I've noticed you watching me on several occasions, among other things."

"Um...I uh..." Alice sputtered, her eyes moving down to the blank page in her sketchbook.

Bella stood up from her chair and walked over to sit on the bed in front of Alice. "I thought Angela was insane when she told me she thinks you have a crush on me, but it does explain a lot."

"I um...I-"

"I like you," Bella interrupted. "Too, I mean. I like you too."

"Huh?"

Bella chuckled, "You're very articulate today." Alice managed a weak chuckle in return. "Look, I'm not trying to make this awkward, but if Angela is right and you _do _like me please say so, because I've been losing my head over this. I need to know that I'm not completely crazy."

Alice didn't reply for a while, her eyes fixed on the pencil in her hands. The few seconds felt like a lifetime and a half to Bella. What if Angela was wrong, and now she had ruined her friendship with Alice? She could barely stand the thought.

"I do," Alice finally said, looking up. She blushed when she realized how that sounded. "I mean I do like you. Not like '_I do' _I do, you know. It's not like we're getting married or anything," she laughed awkwardly before trailing off into silence again and looking down at her pencil.

_Stupid Alice. Stupid stupid stu-_

She was cut off from her thoughts when she felt a warm body and lips press up against her own. Her brain nearly short-circuited from the contact.

Bella's lips were on fire as they moved against Alice's. It took her a while to realize what she was doing and she quickly pulled away when she did.

"Shit, I'm sorry. I shouldn't hav-" Alice cut her off by moving forward and pressing her lips against Bella's in an uncharacteristically bold movement. Their lips moved together once more, Bella's hands going to rest on Alice's waist as she pulled her closer against her own body.

After a minute the two pulled apart and stared at each other, wide-eyed and panting.

"Wow," Alice whispered with a breathless laugh.

Bella chuckled as she sat back on her heels. "More like 'finally'." A matching grin coupled with a blush spread across Alice's face and she picked up her sketchbook to hide behind it.

_I can't believe that just happened._

* * *

**Thoughts? :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**Here's the new chapter, hope you enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

_Chapter Ten_

It had been two weeks since that night in their dorm, and since then things had been progressing slowly but surely. The training sessions increased to twice a week, as per Alice's request, and the pair spent almost all of their free time hiding away in the dorm room, which had become their own small safe haven.

Alice had mentioned her anxieties about being openly gay on campus on more than one occasion. Despite the reassurance from Bella that anyone who tried to be smart about it would soon find themselves with a black eye or worse, she still couldn't shake the partly irrational fear of what it would be like for everyone to know. She couldn't afford to take the chance of being any more of a target than she was already because of her weight.

The temporary solution had been to keep it to themselves; only being affectionate behind closed doors, keeping the pet names to a minimum in public and above all maintaining the 'just friends' act during their training sessions. It worked, for a while, but predictably it began to get frustrating for the older girl who had spent enough of her life hiding from people and worrying about what they thought of her.

"I'm just saying, we could at least tell a _few _people. I mean, Jasper, Edward and the others. They wouldn't tell a soul if we asked them not to."

"I'm not even sure that they like me to begin with, let alone approve of me as your girlfriend. What if they say I'm not good enough for you?" the shorter girl mumbled while she played with Bella's long thin fingers. Bella was shaking her head before she even finished the sentence.

"They're my friends, and they're the closest thing to family I have within miles of here, but that's as far as it goes. You're my girlfriend and I don't need them to approve, but I also don't like feeling like I'm hiding it from them. I feel honoured to have you as my girlfriend, and I would shout it from the top of this building if I got the chance. I'd look stupid doing it probably, but I figure life is full of those moments anyway, so what's one more?"

Alice sighed, leaning further back against Bella's chest and continuing to play with her fingers, interlocking them with her own and running her fingertips along Bella's knuckles. There was soft music coming from Bella's speakers that were sitting on her desk. The two of them were seated on the soft carpet while leaning against the side of Alice's bed. It was one of the rare quiet afternoons when neither of them had any classes to attend or pressing assignments that needed to be taken care of.

Alice loved spending the time with Bella, but she could only imagine how it must feel for her to have to act like they were nothing more than friends whenever they were not alone. Bella had given her so much already, the least she could do for her was let the guard drop with Bella's closest friends.

"Okay."

"Hmm?"

Alice turned to straddle Bella's hips but kept her eyes on their hands. "We can tell them. Your friends, I mean. It's kind of selfish of me to force you to keep secrets from them."

Bella smiled her gratitude and pulled her into a tight embrace, and Alice felt herself relax against her girlfriend's shoulder. She couldn't help herself as she took deep breaths against the girl's neck; Bella never wore deodorant or perfume as far as Alice knew, but she still managed to smell so damn good all the time.

"Are you sniffing me?"

"No," Alice replied too quickly, pulling out of the hug and looking away as her face flushed.

"Yes you were!" Bella chuckled as Alice now moved off her lap.

"Well I can't help it if you smell so delic-good all the time," Alice quickly corrected, but the other girl caught it.

"Hmm," Bella let out as she crawled over so she was straddling Alice's lap instead, and a mischievous glint entered her eye. "So does that mean you want to _eat_ me?"

The blush spread over onto Alice's ears and neck and she kept her gaze averted. "I uh...well...um..."

"Somewhere in there, a full sentence is just waiting to come out," Bella teased. A small glare was shot her way and she chose to kiss away the pout before it could form. They remained that way until breathing became a bit difficult and they were forced to pull apart, both panting softly.

Bella reached over to absently smooth over Alice's eyebrow then brush through her hair, and the girl shut her eyes with a quiet sigh. She loved how gentle Bella could be without even thinking about it. It was definitely one of the things she liked most about her.

"How about we meet the others at the café on Saturday after training? Will you have any classes then?"

"No, I'll be free for the whole day."

"Perfect," Bella whispered before her lips met Alice's once again. It seemed she was addicted to the feeling of the girl's lips moving against her own; she just couldn't get enough of it.

When they finally pulled away, Alice's hands had tangled themselves into Bella's hair and she smiled sheepishly as she had to release her hold carefully to avoid ripping any of it out. She mumbled a quiet, "Sorry," and Bella just grinned and gave her a quick peck before standing up and pulling the girl up with her.

"I'm getting kinda hungry. Do you want to head to the cafeteria, or would you prefer something else?"

"The cafeteria's fine." Bella quickly grabbed her meal card and slipped on some shoes while Alice did the same.

As the two walked side by side to the cafeteria, their hands continuously bumped against each other's and Bella wanted nothing more than to just grab Alice's hand and hold it in her own. She knew the other girl wasn't yet ready for such a public display since that would be more difficult to defend as just another friendly touch. No one had rushed her when she was sorting through her challenges, and she hardly thought it fair that she should push Alice to go any faster than she was comfortable with. For now, she would just have to work with the cards she was dealt.

* * *

There was a knock on the door to their dorm room and Alice walked over to open it, one foot still sockless.

On the other side stood Angela, who she had only seen on a few occasions and still felt slightly intimidated by.

"Oh uh...hey?" the greeting came out as a question.

Angela smiled reassuringly, remembering what Bella had told her the previous day about Alice's insecurities regarding their new relationship. "Hi Alice."

Bella walked out of the bathroom with a toothbrush poking past her lips and some white foam at the corner of her lip. She held up one finger before retreating back into the bathroom. When she came out again, her lips were stretched into a wide, optimistic grin.

"Hey Ange. I didn't think you'd come over so quickly."

"I'm starving and Edward keeps bugging me to ask what's taking us so long."

"Sorry about that, I kinda lost track of time."

"I'm sure," Angela said, making a not so discrete glance between Alice and one of the beds that looked recently occupied. Alice's sheepish look was a dead giveaway.

"Well I'm almost ready; Alice?"

"I just need to get my shoes on."

"Cool, we'll be out in a minute."

Angela laid down on Bella's bed and grabbed the open magazine that was sitting on it and began to flip through. It was a sports one, and that wasn't nearly as interesting as what she usually read, but it would have to do.

Ten minutes later, the three were set on their way to the café. The campus was littered with students walking to class, some walking from the direction the three of them were headed, and others doing regular Saturday things.

When they opened the door to the café, a jingle above them alerted everyone of their arrival.

"Guys! Over here." They turned and saw Jasper's hand waving from where he sat with Edward and Rosalie.

"'Sup guys," Bella said as she pulled out a chair for Alice before taking one herself.

"Well look who finally decided to join the world of the living," Rosalie teased.

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

"Hi Alice, how've you been?"

"Pretty good," she replied, smiling shyly at Edward. "I'm still alive anyway."

"Are you implying that I don't take good care of you?" Bella asked, mock hurt drifting across her face.

Alice blushed, ducking her head to hide her smile.

"Ow! Fuck Rose. What the hell?" Bella hissed, rubbing her shin.

"Where are your manners? Introduce me to your...friend."

"Impatient bitch," Bella muttered low enough so only Alice could hear, and the girl bit her lip, trying not to snicker. "Alice, this is Rosalie, Jasper's sister and a close friend of mine. Rose, this is my girlfriend, Alice." Rosalie's eyes widened at hearing 'girlfriend', but the rest just smirked knowingly.

"Nice to meet you," Alice smiled. She recognised the blonde from some of the pictures in Bella's dorm.

"Pleasure," Rosalie said, her tone reserved as she scrutinised Alice. Bella shot her a look which she ignored.

"So when did you two make it official?" Jasper asked.

"About two weeks ago."

"And you didn't tell us sooner because..." Bella just shrugged, looking over the menu in front of her.

"It's my fault," Alice spoke up. "I'm still a bit nervous about what people would think."

"Trust me Short Stuff, that should be the least of your worries," Edward said with a gentle smile.

"He's right," Jasper agreed. "I don't even know half the people in this school, and I highly doubt you do. The opinions of strangers isn't half as important as your friends'." Alice didn't miss the fact that he had indirectly called her their friend, and not just Bella's girlfriend.

"Well it's about time you two got together either way. Alice, you have no idea how whiny Bella can be-"

"_Thank you,_ Angela," Bella hissed, her eyes narrowing. A small giggle came from next to her and she turned to see Alice grinning smugly. "What are you all smiley about?" Bella said, nudging the other girl who just laughed again.

"Hey guys, ready to order?" the waiter asked as he neared the group.

"The usual," Bella, Angela and Edward said at the same time. Jasper and Rosalie rolled their eyes.

"These three practically live here when they're not in their classes," Jasper explained to Alice who was wondering why she seemed to be the only one who took notice of the three. "They do it every time; I don't even know why they bother looking at the menu."

"Number seventeen," Rosalie ordered before closing her menu and handing it to the waiter.

"Two number nines," Jasper ordered, noticing how lost Alice looked as she rushed to look over the options. _Thank you_, she mouthed to him, handing over her menu, and he winked in response.

"You're getting awfully fresh with my girlfriend over there Goldilocks," Bella glared playfully.

He shrugged, "What can I say? It's the Hale charm." At that, Rosalie cracked her first smile.

* * *

The elevator dinged as it reached the third floor. Alice had a light flush on her face from the cold outside and Bella could barely stop staring long enough to be a part of the conversation.

"So anyway, I'll see you guys later," Angela said as she took out her room key. "And try to keep the noise down please, I know everything is new and exciting and all, but there are other people in this building too."

"_Bye_ Ange," Bella rolled her eyes, pulling Alice by the hand into their own room a few doors down.

Alice chuckled, tossing off her shoes and sitting on the edge of the bed to massage her foot. Bella pulled her desk chair over and sat in front of the bed, pulling Alice's foot onto her lap to take over the massage.

"Told you it wouldn't be so bad."

Alice nodded, trying not to moan at the feeling of Bella's magical fingers kneading her sore feet. "I guess most of the fear was just in my head. Rosalie doesn't seem to like me that much though."

"She'll come around. It's difficult for her to open up to new people."

Alice wanted to ask why, but then decided against it. "So when's your next game? Sorry, I'm not very up to date with the schedule."

"We're playing against the Armadillos next week. I swear Coach tried to kill us during training this morning."

"Aww, do you need a kiss to make it better?" Bella pouted and nodded, her eyebrows tilting up and inward. "C'mere poor baby," she smiled, moving towards the middle of the bed.

Bella let go of Alice's foot before leaning over to press her lips against hers. One hand moved to the bed to support her weight and the other rested on the side of Alice's face. Rather than pulling away when Alice thought she would, Bella deepened the kiss further, nudging her to lay down on the bed as Bella now moved to straddle Alice's waist.

Alice's breathing became short and laboured, and that only made the taller girl desire her even more. Without thinking, her hand moved down Alice's neck to her chest. As the tips of her fingers brushed against the hint of a nipple protruding through Alice's shirt, Alice sucked in a sharp breath, pulling away from the kiss to bite her lip firmly. Bella's lips moved to kiss down the side of Alice's cheek and over to her ear. Alice groaned and moved her hands behind Bella's thighs, pulling her closer against her body.

Just as Alice felt like she was about to explode from the sensations going through her body, Bella began to slow down. She pulled her lips back up to gently kiss Alice and moved her hand away from the girl's breast.

"Now I'm much better," Bella panted with a slightly dazed look on her face. Alice grinned proudly at the effect she seemed to have on her and reached up to peck the corner of Bella's mouth.

"I'd say so," she replied, her hands moving up into Bella's hair as the girl rested her head on Alice's chest.

* * *

**I hope you haven't grown too impatient with me yet. Feel free to leave comments :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here's another chapter. I'm trying to get some regularity going :) Hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

_Chapter Eleven_

Bella couldn't help but smile; Alice looked very cute with her face painted in the team colours and Bella's number on each of her cheeks. Alice was saying something and Bella knew she should've been listening, but she couldn't stop her eyes from wandering long enough to do so. The goofy smile on her face widened.

Alice paused in her speech and turned to Bella with a confused look. Her lips moved, and Bella's eyes shifted down to them and she licked her own, remembering how they tasted.

"Bella!" Alice snapped her fingers in front of her face. Seeming startled, Bella snapped out of her day dream and her eyes became more focused.

"Huh?"

"Why were you looking at me like that?"

"Well um..." Alice raised a sexy eyebrow. _Damn it Bella, focus._ "Um...the game," she finally stumbled out, gesturing in the general direction of the field.

Alice gave her a skeptical look, but then nodded and grabbed Bella's hand to tug her along. "Edward said he saved me a seat on the bleachers, so I'm gonna go find him."

Bella nodded, her mind now on the football game less than an hour away. "I'm glad you two are getting along as well as you are. A part of me was still worried about that."

"He's nice, and he doesn't treat me like a kid the way most seniors do so that's an automatic bonus."

Bella took a deep breath, glancing at the stadium where students were still swarming in and moving to the spectator seats. She was supposed be in the changing room by now.

"I gotta go, or Coach will yell at me."

"I understand. I'll cheer for you," Alice said with a grin.

Bella gave her a quick kiss and a hug. "See you after the game."

"Good luck!" Alice called as Bella jogged over to the changing rooms. _Now to find Edward._

"Hey Short Stuff." Alice yelped and spun around to find Edward and Jasper chuckling as they bumped fists.

"Very funny," she muttered with narrowed eyes. "Weren't you supposed to get seats?"

"Angela's got 'em," Jasper explained as they started walking. "How's life in paradise?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "Pretty good, Bella's the best girlfriend anyone could ask for."

"I know," Jasper replied.

At Alice's confused look, Edward piped in, "They used to go out in high school." Alice's mouth fell open.

"But I thought she-"

"I know," Jasper interrupted, "she is. I knew she was gay even then, or at least bi, but I could tell she was still trying to sort through her emotions. She broke up with me during our junior year, and that's when she 'came out' to me, you could say. I didn't react the way she thought I would, and then we talked, and then the others knew, and yadda yadda, the rest is history."

"Wow," Alice mumbled before turning sharply to Edward. "You didn't date her too, did you?" Edward laughed so loudly that the people within earshot turned to see what was happening.

"No way," he finally managed.

Jasper snorted, "He used to have a big ass crush on her though. For years actually-"

He was cut off when Edward tackled him. "Shut up man." Jasper just laughed and tried to escape Edward's grip.

"He was like a lovesick puppy. Borderline stalkerish-ow! Fuck!" Edward finally managed to get him in a headlock. "Okay, okay, I stopped. I stopped! Uncle!" Edward let him go with a huff. "Damn it," Jasper muttered, rubbing his neck.

Alice just shook her head and continued walking. She spotted Angela waving them over and made her way to the seats.

"Hey Short Stuff."

"I have a name you know."

"Sorry, I've been around Edward for too long. What was going on back there?"

Alice just shrugged and turned to look around the stadium. She couldn't recognise half the people, and some of them looked like parents. Edward and Jasper sat in the chairs next to her.

"Ange, where's Rose?" Jasper asked, passing a huge bag of popcorn to Alice. _Popcorn at a football game?_ Alice thought to herself.

"Beats me, she wasn't in her room when I went to check. She said she'd be here though." Jasper looked confused but then shrugged and sat back in his chair, sharing the other bag with Edward.

After a while, the principle came onto the field with a microphone and ordered everyone to quiet down. After almost ten minutes of formalities, the two teams were finally called out and everyone cheered extra loudly as the school team, with Bella leading them, jogged out onto the field.

The coaches walked onto the field afterward and the two teams formed their huddles as they went through final words of encouragement. Two team cheers later, the coin was being tossed and Bella was given the football.

As the game proceeded, Alice found herself only concerned with Bella. She understood nothing about football except that the ball wasn't round, so instead she busied herself with glaring at anyone who tried or managed to tackle Bella while she had the ball. She didn't even realise she was yelling until Angela told her to calm down before she busted a vocal cord.

The atmosphere was hectic and loud, and Alice was glad that their seats were high enough that her view of the field wasn't blocked by giant foam fingers and mascot hats.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Alice told Angela who barely nodded, too caught up in the game.

The silence in the bathroom was a sharp contrast to the noise from outside, and it was a bit eery. Alice made quick work of taking care of her business before walking back outside.

Before she got far, someone tapped her shoulder and she turned to find James and two of his friends standing there. Had they followed her?

"Hey Fatass. Where ya been? I almost missed ya."

Alice's heart rate picked up and started going twice as quickly. "Leave me alone."

"Aww what's the matter? Not so fucking tough without your little girlfriend here, are you?"

Alice looked around frantically, but it seemed everyone was at the game. "I said leave me alone James," she repeated, trying to stop her voice from shaking.

He snorted, "Or what Fatass?"

"Hunter." James turned around and found Coach McCarty standing with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

"U-Uh y-yes Coach-"

"I suggest you get out of here before I get any more annoyed with you."

The other two boys ran off first towards the stadium, and James followed right behind them when he saw he was outnumbered, shooting Alice a sneer before leaving.

"Are you okay Alice?" Alice was surprised to see Rosalie appear from behind the coach's massive frame.

"R-Rosalie? What are you doing here?"

"Did they hurt you?" she asked, ignoring the question. Alice shook her head no.

"I have to go..." the coach trailed off, gesturing towards the stadium before leaving the two girls by themselves.

Alice cast Rosalie a curious look but she decided not to pry. "Thanks for showing up and, you know..."

Rosalie nodded, "We overheard. Are you sure you're okay?" Alice nodded and attempted a smile. She could tell by the look on Rosalie's face that she wasn't buying it.

"I should head back. I don't want to miss the game."

"I'll come with you."

When they made their way back, the surprised looks on the others' faces didn't go unnoticed, but neither chose to comment on it. Alice took her seat between Angela and Edward, and Rosalie sat next to Jasper. He shot her a questioning look, but she just shook her head slightly.

"What did I miss?" Alice yelled over the noise.

"You wouldn't understand if I explained anyway," Edward replied.

"Well, are we winning or not?"

"We are, but not by far."

That's all she needed, then she went back to watching Bella run around looking sexy in her uniform. She was still slightly shaken by her encounter with James, but she figured she could sort through that another time. Right now, her girlfriend was about to win a game.

* * *

**Feedback and predictions are welcome. I'm curious to know what you guys are thinking as you read.**


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